Man Utd transfer row emerges as Harry Maguire's preferred replacement named

Harry Maguire has found himself at the centre of a strongly worded debate surrounding his Manchester United future

Sam Allardyce has dismissed Paul Scholes' suggestion that Manchester United should pursue Cristian Romero, having been asked if he'd choose the Tottenham captain ahead of Harry Maguire.

Scholes recently lavished praise on Romero, 27, following United's 2-0 victory over Spurs. Even though the Argentine centre-half was sent off for a rash challenge that ultimately contributed to his side's defeat, the United legend continues to rate the defender highly.

He said on The Good, The Bad & The Football: "I love watching him. I think his head’s checked out at Spurs. I’d love him at United. I just love the character of him."

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Whether United will actually move for Romero this summer is unclear, though any potential deal could hinge on former captain Maguire's future at Old Trafford. The 32-year-old central defender is set to become a free agent this summer unless he secures a new deal in the coming months.

However, former Premier League manager Allardyce believes it would be the wrong decision to allow the Englishman to leave in order to accommodate Romero’s arrival. When asked on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast what he made of Scholes’ comments and if he’d take Romero over Maguire, Allardyce was very clear that he valued Maguire’s defensive abilities more.

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He criticised the Tottenham defender by calling him "irrational", insisting he has "so many flaws" and accusing Romero of still making the same rash mistakes he made when he was first signed.

Allardyce said: "Too risky [for United to sign him]. Too risky. Honestly, too risky. He doesn’t… Listen, if you’re a centre-half, your first priority, in respect to what Paul says, and I respect his opinion, is being a defender.

"'How good are you at defending?' Not, 'How good are you at playing with the ball?' That’s only an added bonus. People are looking for that more than looking at how good they are as defenders, which is a big problem at academy level.

"Because you’ve got all these 30 little coaches going around saying, ‘Can he play out from the back?’ Can he defend?! Like full-backs. That’s what their job is."

Allardyce insisted that Romero epitomises the type of defenders currently emerging in modern football, which are in stark contrast to those from his own era as a manager.

Romero received his marching orders against United earlier this month as Spurs suffered a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford. The Argentine's straight red card for his high and late challenge on Casemiro means he has now been shown more red cards than any other player in the Premier League since joining Spurs in 2021.

He remains under contract at Tottenham until 2029 thanks to an extension he signed last summer. Romero’s defensive partner for Argentina, Lisandro Martinez, is currently one of United’s first-choice centre-backs. Martinez regularly partners Maguire, who has featured 15 times across all competitions this campaign.

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